Garf Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 @Nick The thing about these boards is that not only do you have some of the biggest fans of comics, its also the main hub of the secondary market. I don't think Bedlam has been centered out for delays or variants, as both exist across all the comic publishers. Bedlam just happened to occur at an inflection point in the comic market as a whole. Speculation is rampant in the secondary market, probably at the highest since the 90s bubble burst. Bedlam was launched during that time period but also had a perfect storm of events surrounding its launch. 1.) It's rarest variant, the B&W Sketch was released BEFORE the book 2.) A CGC slabbed 9.8 was rushed and put up for sale on ebay, while most people were still fighting to try and get any copy at all. 3.) That first Sketch 9.8 was sold "BuyItNow" to some person who decided they were willing to overpay to the tune of $500.00 for it. 4.) Once the secondary market saw that price point, plus how well the book was been promoted and reviewed, it turned into a feeding frenzy. The end result was that speculators drove up the print run of the first issue, and were buying up all the variants, which fueled even more variant sales, etc. Once the impossible price point of $500.00 was realized to be a mirage (of just one person), the prices on the B&W sketches start to fall. They pulled down the rest of the variants, and all the speculators started dumping massive quantities of the book trying to cut their losses. The secondary market is a double-edged sword, its needs to be courted because it creates buzz, pulls in new readers, and can create self sustained feedback (like Saga). But, it can also create drag/dead weight and turn to negative buzz and copies piling up dirt cheap in large quantities on ebay. What you are seeing here is people trying to rationalize WHY a series they like so much, is not stronger on the secondary market. Small numbers of variants tend to hold their prices better, due to low numbers available, hence the variants comments. Delays or even breaks (again Saga), also get comments where people try to rationalize secondary markets in light of them. In the end, the people who read bedlam seem to really like it. Its speculators who pushed its print run to high to begin with, and then brought it lower afterwards. Its speculation that is the source of any negative buzz, which really has nothing to do with writing and artwork Keep putting out a strong book, and as the over supply caused by speculators works its way out of the system, the negative comments will fade away, secondary market prices will stabilize, and the secondary market can start to be a positive source of buzz again. Great post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE LAUGHING M4N Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 It's cool that Nick pops in and posts a few comments without going nuclear on a lot of the negativity throughout this thread, so here is my reasoning for dropping the book: I've enjoyed the story and both artists but I can't shake the perception that it is a perpetually late book. I could be wrong, but my recollection is going into shops and not seeing the book when it was due according to solicitations from Riley's last few issues to Ryan's run on art duties. Has anyone got solicited dates and when they actually went on shelves for sale? So it may have 11 in 14 months, but shipping delays hurt (for whatever reason), particularly when a reader really enjoys it and wants to see it succeed. A dedicated schedule like Saga has would benefit this book IMO. Solicited dates that ship on time and with breaks of a few months to allow creators to recharge, new readers to catch up on trades and jump on for the new arc. FYI, I do think Nick's Superior Foes of Spider-Man is a great book that everyone should be reading just in case this comes across as a bashing post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveySwick Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 If you enjoy the book, why not just add it to a pull list or order it and when it comes in.... enjoy it? I may be here because I don't really pay attention to release dates. I just get to my LCS when I can and ask for my pull list. Sometimes it's and other times its But I would never quit on a book I enjoy because of delays. Of course, that's just my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman399 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Seems like people have a perception issue. If the book comes out on average every 5 weeks (thumbs u but when it says hey will be out in 4 and gets pushed back a week its a Sounds like when people get excited for buying a book at $120 with free shipping but thumb their noses at the same book at $100 + $20 for shipping cause that is way over priced shipping. Love Bedlam and hope it continues for a long while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vikingreed Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 If you enjoy the book, why not just add it to a pull list or order it and when it comes in.... enjoy it? I may be here because I don't really pay attention to release dates. I just get to my LCS when I can and ask for my pull list. Sometimes it's and other times its But I would never quit on a book I enjoy because of delays. Of course, that's just my This is how I am, as well. I'm still waiting on Battle Chasers, ::. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveySwick Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Love Bedlam and hope it continues for a long while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 See, I dont get that. So many people on the CGC forums are all about non-Big 2 comics. But, if people are going to read non-Big 2 comics, things like delays come with the territory. I would NEVER cancel a book I liked, for any reason. When a book is delayed, it just saves me some money from an over sized pull list being slightly cheaper for that month. Heck, if people are that worried about the day it comes out, why not just read trades. I have been perpetually behind in reading my pull list for the better part of the last decade anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveySwick Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I would NEVER cancel a book I liked, for any reason. When a book is delayed, it just saves me some money from an over sized pull list being slightly cheaper for that month. This is how I feel as well. Sometimes it's nice not to have a large bill. As long as Nick comes on and says the book isn't going to be cancelled and they care about the project and have plans... I'm in for the long run whenever it comes out. (thumbs u I think this is very different than NWM where zero explanation or accountability has taken place and at this point - who the f knows if another issue will ever come out. Give Nick a break. Bedlam has seen a good # of issues come out in a year + time. I have zero problem with any of the delays with this book. But obviously - people are entitled to their own opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erndog Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 If you enjoy the book, why not just add it to a pull list or order it and when it comes in.... enjoy it? I may be here because I don't really pay attention to release dates. I just get to my LCS when I can and ask for my pull list. Sometimes it's and other times its But I would never quit on a book I enjoy because of delays. Of course, that's just my This is how I am, as well. I'm still waiting on Battle Chasers, ::. I don't get canning a book because it's delayed. At all. Makes no logical sense to me. If you enjoy something, why not.... continue to enjoy it? I collect many titles, and love several books and I don't give a rats monkey's poop when they come out.. I dont even notice! Seriously! I can't even tell you whats going to be in my pull list in 2 days.. or next Wednesday, or the Wed after that for that matter. I go to the store. Grab my pull list. Fawn over some statues. And go home. I don't even know which freaken titles I just bought half the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erndog Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Heck, if people are that worried about the day it comes out, why not just read trades. I have been perpetually behind in reading my pull list for the better part of the last decade anyway... Yup! And this! Rarely am I up to date anyways. I read what I can, when I can. I dont care if a books a couple weeks delayed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE LAUGHING M4N Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 It was on my pull list because I wanted to support it with advance orders. I then dropped it to pick off the shelves when it started to miss dates, now have just dropped it to eventually read as a trade if my interest still pertains to it whenever that may be. There's plenty of books that I enjoy and ship on time, so when a new issue comes out, the last few are still relatively fresh in my memory. It's a chore to have to re-read past issues just to understand what's going on in the latest (delayed) release. I want to re-read comics because I enjoyed them, not because I have to. I do like the book but I place more appreciation of books that can be enjoyable and on time and recommend those to my friends. Nothing like explaining to them why they can't read the next issue if they enjoyed the free issues I send them to encourage more readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsJustRyan Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Nick mentioned another artist for the next arc?? Is that happening?? Who is it?? I think RBrown has mad skills, but for some reason his interpretation of Madder & Co. doesn't resonate with me personally as much as Riley did. I thought Riley's art was edgy and crazy like Madder is. I know Riley's face drawing ran together, but I still liked this work better than RB. And, as I've said before, this arc has really captivated me the way the first one did. We'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsJustRyan Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Boon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoseBackPages Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Reily's faces are horribly drawn. all the charachters should not look related. If anyone working for TheBigBloatedTwo can get THOSE scrips on time, there is no reason they cannot get the work THEY ACTUALLY OWN out on time. If you have too much work on your plate, too bad, nobody forced anyone to do this for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I wish I was as flexible as you guys. I always expect things to happen in a timely manner. I go to the movies, I would be upset if it started 10 minutes late. Same thing for reservations. I pay my bills 2 weeks or more before they're due. Planetary nearly killed me in the wait. I think what happens to me is that I get impatient and start looking for new stuff when the old stuff slows down. I added Rat Queens, Letter 44, Manifest Destiny, Sex Criminals, Deadly Class, and A Voice in the Dark to my pulls in the last 3 months. Some of these books might pay for themselves or make money but in the long run, most of these will come out of my monthly entertainment budget. I'm like nature in that I also abhor a vacuum. In any case, I found some stuff I like as well as Bedlam in the meantime. I'm not going to complain about it. I just do the same thing I've always done and fill the void. I will still pick this up in TPB form. I think if I were a writer or especially an artist, I would wait until I had enough material produced to avoid delays. When I was a kid, issue #13 came out on the anniversary of issue #1 or 13 issues the first year. Superior Spider-man started last January and is on issue 26. This story kicks butt and hasn't suffered from the speed of the issues. TWD is doing something similar at the moment. It can as is being done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveySwick Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Not directed at anyone in general because clearly there are valid arguments on both sides. I understand - delays are frustrating. But someone please explain and clarify - why can't you just pick it up and read it when it comes out if you like and enjoy it when you pick it up and read it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoseBackPages Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 i will be buying the trades if they ever come out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarveySwick Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 i will be buying the trades if they ever come out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I personally won't pay cover price for any book I can't turn around and sell to bust out. I am willing to take my chances at 35% to %50 off. I also lose interest in some books. Out of sight, out of mind. People will bring up Planetary as an example of a late book but to me, that was a legendary comic and the exception. I understand your thinking on this. I just tie up $1000s of dollars into comics every year and I don't want to buy a third less books by paying cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
